The Multimedia and Computer S
upported Cooperative Work

The exercise of viewing presentations by my classmates was a great example of learning from other's experiences. This interpersonal transfer of knowledge-in-use is quite necessary for individual and organizational learning. Learning from others depends on people's ability to integrate their own and others' experiences. In order to do that successfully, people have to abstract from single experiences (that they or others have had) and recognize those features that different situations have in common. This type of learning is termed observational learning, also known as vicarious learning, social learning, or modeling. This type of learning occurs as a function of observing, retaining, and replicating novel behavior executed by others. It could be argued that reinforcement affects which responses one will partake in, more than it influences the actual acquisition of the new response.

It may be noted here that imitation is very different from observational learning in that the latter leads to a change in behavior due to observing a model. Observational learning does not require that the behavior exhibited by the model is duplicated. For example, the learner may observe an unwanted behavior and the subsequent consequences and learn to refrain from that behavior.

As stated earlier in my previous blog, interactive multimedia programs are particularly suited to learning since they manage images and information very efficiently. Nevertheless, students are reported to prefer a blended learning format in which computer technology is combined with the traditional approach (Sharpe et al., 2006).

Talking about the integration of multimedia in social learning, I would like to talk about the term computer supported cooperative work (CSCW). Irene Greif and Paul M. Cashman (1984) coined the term CSCW. According to Carstensen and Schmidt (1999), CSCW addresses "how collaborative activities and their coordination can be supported using computer systems." One methodology could be the adoption of CSCW based multimedia applications in social learning.


The E-world nature of today's market has forced many organizations to decentralize their organizational structures. Facing the growing complexity of communication issues, training requirements, and commercial problems.  They require optimally tailored working environments, which open new application domains for CSCW. The connection of workstations into technically progressive multimedia-based communication networks forms the basis for CSCW, an innovative interdisciplinary research field becoming increasingly crucial in supply chain management.  This environment requires functionality to multiplex the output of the interactive multimedia applications to a group of users and filter user input so that the application sees it as coming from a single user. In a CSCW environment, users remotely point into the shared document and simultaneous multimedia (audiovisual) to simplify interactions on the item of interest. Additional mechanisms enable users to point into the shared document remotely, and simultaneous audiovisual communication facilitates interaction on the item of interest. The second approach is based on a network of sharable data objects accessible by various sharable tools. A common virtual workspace with a group-centered interface lets participants share the shared workspace, set up conferences, see others' gestures, and hear their voices. Integrating both approaches results in a robust interactive CSCW environment.


Referencs:

Carstensen, P.H.; Schmidt, K. (1999). "Computer-supported cooperative work: new challenges to systems design". Retrieved 2007-08-03.

Sharpe R, Benfield G, Roberts G, and Francis R (2006). The undergraduate experience of blended eLearning: a review of UK literature and practice. Higher Education Academy

 

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